Mount St. Helens, WA, Backcountry Report: Volcano Season has Arrived Report from Wednesday, April 17, 2024 Mount St. Helens, Washington, may not be as big as it used to be, but it’s still a formidable PNW staple. I was excited to return to St. Helens after a wonderful, placid trip in 2023 and this Wednesday did not disappoint. The route from Portland to the Marble Mountain Sno Park was bare and […] Conditions Report Nicky Blumm | April 18, 2024 0 Comments
Mt. Hood (Wy’East) vs Crater Lake (Giiwas), OR, Historic Snowfall Comparison When it comes to big snowfall totals in the state of Oregon, two sites remain supreme for their heavy annual snowfall and greatest snow depth recorded at one time. These sites are Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon and Timberline on Mt. Hood in northern Oregon. You might be asking why I chose these specific sites in Oregon. I […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | February 26, 2024 0 Comments
Why Didn’t a Ski Lift/Tram Ever Get Built on Mt. Rainier, WA? Imagine taking a ski lift from Mt. Rainier’s Paradise station at 5,400 ft to the 10,000 ft Camp Muir level where you would have endless terrain to snowboard or ski. One could certainly see why this precise location would be so enticing and attractive to set up a permanent ski lift. You could easily argue that the south part of […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | March 21, 2023 0 Comments
Winter Play Options at Mt. Mazama, AKA Crater Lake National Park, OR When you think of winter recreation in the Oregon Cascades, your thoughts and imagination might immediately spring for Mt. Hood (Wy’East), Mt. Bachelor, Three Sisters Wilderness, Hoodoo, or the Willamette Pass area. While these areas are fantastic and hard-to-beat places for winter adventuring activities of all kinds, there is one legendary spot in Oregon that flies under the radar and […] Backcountry Matthew Oliphant | January 31, 2023 0 Comments
Which Cascade Peak in Oregon Hosts the Southernmost Active Glacier? Before we jump into the main topic of discussion, let’s first understand what specific characteristics you can expect to see with an active glacier. A vibrant and robust glacier will embody various components pertaining to the movement and flow of ice. Some of these iconic features and behaviors you can expect are icebergs, crevasses, ice falls, and ice caves. Any […] Brains Matthew Oliphant | January 11, 2023 0 Comments
NASA: Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, World’s Largest Active Volcano, Erupts for 1st Time in 40-Years The world’s largest active volcano—Hawaii’s Mauna Loa—has been quiet for the past four decades. But in November 2022, the volcano began to stir. Related: Yes, You Can Actually Ski in Hawaii The first signs of unrest emerged in early October 2022, when U.S. Geological Survey data showed a tenfold increase in small earthquakes beneath the volcano’s summit caldera—a result of […] SnowBrains | November 30, 2022 0 Comments
NASA: Looking Straight Down Mt Ruapehu, New Zealand’s Active Volcano While passing over the North Island of New Zealand, an astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS) took a photograph of Mount Ruapehu, offering a nadir (straight down) view of the mountain and Tongariro National Park. Ruapehu is an active stratovolcano that stands 2,797 meters (9,177 feet) at its highest point. It is the tallest mountain on North Island. Related: […] Kiwi Brains | September 18, 2022 0 Comments
Mount Rainier Eruption Could Wipe Out Nearby Cities – With Mud According to National Geographic, Mount Rainier might be the most dangerous volcano in the US. The volcano is often overshadowed by Yellowstone’s “supervolcano” hype, or by its neighbor, Mount St. Helens, which erupted in 1980. While an eruption at Yellowstone has the potential to be catastrophic, a major eruption hasn’t happened in 630,000 years and might not even happen again. And while […] Brains Tanner Blake | September 8, 2022 5 Comments